Summary Of Mentality And Rationalization In Canadian National Parks

In the chapter titled “Rationality and Rationalization in Canadian National Parks Predator Policy” by Alan MacEachern in Consuming Canada: Readings in Environmental History (1995), MacEachern writes “Law of nature; the destroyer is also the protector”. A short quote, which signifies the mentality of National Park warden’s during a time when their main role was to control and manage predator populations in the interior of National Parks. A role wherein they took satisfaction and pleasure fulfilling. Their days were spent trapping and hunting predators rather than conducting their duties that they were hired to do. Interestingly, the list of predators that were targeted because they were conceived as unwanted and useless are in fact seen as ecological

symbols today, and are among the most favored when it comes to National Park visitor photography and pleasure. This is one prime example, which depicts how humans perceived predators well into the 20th century. The immoral predator and human relationship was certainly driven by a great deal of myth, folklore, and lies that were based on a variety of misunderstandings, poor judgment, and lack of knowledge toward predators, in particular, the wolf.
Both the primary and secondary sources that are listed above illustrate this fact well.

Gordon Hewitt’s piece titled “The Conservation of the Wild Life in Canada” (1921), outlines just how selfish, ignorant, and greedy humans were towards predators such as the wolf, coyote, and cougar. The author does a persuasive job to portray those predators as nothing more than killers that interfere with human livelihoods. There is a great deal of blame put on predators, but poor evidence and facts to back up the claims. He even goes as far as to discuss predators in each province, obviously trying to attract the attention of people all around North America. He discusses the ecology behind prey and predator, including mice, insects, and gophers. This makes him sound somewhat intelligent to the readers, and I bet during the time this was written it accomplished exactly as he wished it

would.
It appears that for each of these sources there is a particular theme that is hard for a reader to ignore, especially a reader who at the time would have been impacted if he/she did not act to control predators.

For instance, the aspect of wealth and economics, in particular, agriculture and livestock were popular because that topic seemed to come up in each of the readings. The most recent one by John & Mary Theberge, “Wolf Country” written only sixteen years ago, explained how a farmer spoke during a live lecture, which was based on the material from the study, he said that “the only good wolf, is a dead one”, because they kill sheep and have been studied for far too long without any convincing truth behind their usefulness. This was during a time when most people’s mindset of wolves had changed because people learned to respect and value nature beginning around 1948 and lasted into the 60s. During the period of the 1970s, wildlife was thought to be complex and an integral part of Earth’s cycle. In addition, the public discovered the benefits of predator and prey food webs, which caused visits to National and Provincial parks to explode at a high rate due to a rising interest in this newly uncovered phenomena,

ecology.
The most significant element that occurred rather late in life was the evolution of science, in particular, how science became the leading means to understand and value the abundance of complexities and ecological processes of life on Earth. Although I do not agree with all the ways in which people have gained their knowledge, specifically sources from media coverage, including television, movies, and today the world wide web. There is no doubt that novels written by well-known authors such as Rachel Carson who wrote “Silent Spring” in the 1960s, and Farley Mowat’s, “Never Cry Wolf”, likely influenced the environmental movement. Further, these stories sparked a different sort of awareness in the public eye, specifically how nature and our resources are being controlled and regulated. Consequently, questions regarding the safety of our foods and industrial techniques were at the forefront of political and leading governmental affairs.